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In addition to the “arctic” lake, I stumbled upon the Willard Chapel on a local tourism site. As I read the blurb, I knew I just absolutely had to go see the splendor!

“The Willard Chapel is an extremely rare example of the work of Louis C. Tiffany and Tiffany Glass and Decoration Co. Included in the Tiffany interior are 14 opalescent windows, a rose window, a large figure window, nine Mooresque styled chandeliers, memorial tablets of glass mosaic tile and gilt bronze, furnishings of oak inlaid with metal and glass mosaic, a ceiling with gold leaf stencils and mosaic flooring. Built in 1892-1894, the interior of the Chapel was designed and handcrafted entirely by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company of New York City and is the only complete and unaltered Tiffany designed religion interior known to exist in the world.”
from http://www.willardchapel.org

We got a private tour of the chapel that last about an hour. It really felt like an episode on National Geographic as we got history of the building and explored techniques and design elements of Tiffany’s glass and other furnishings. The greatest part was definitely the ability to use flash photography! I can understanding some art museums and not allowing flash photography, but any that ban all types of photography are just no fun! I have a couple wide angle shots of the chapel, but these are just the detail shots. I’d recommend seeing the official page for more. And, if you are ever in the Finger Lake region of New York, it is worth the trip downtown Auburn to see this work in person!

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I opted out of doing any end of the year, top number, favorite and most memorable posts last year this time into the new year. After 7 months at that point, it didn’t jive with the blog and the work I had done. So, that means I’ll be doing a reflection post this year where I recap my blog, the best moments in my work over the past year expressing gratitude and reliving the highs and lows–NOT.

I have traveled into a desert of photography and according to my iCloud photo stream, I haven’t been on a walkabout for picture-taking since October! Details of my personal life do give some indication where the time and energy has been redirected. It’s all good things happening and part of my bigger quest to live a balanced and diversely rich lifestyle that incorporates my many interests.

Most recently, I learned crochet and last weekend I worked on this basket for my quartz crystals:

Now that we’ve traversed well around on a brief tangent, I’m going to tell you what that means for the photoblog! Many of you are aware of spring cleaning when we open the windows, shake the rugs, clear out the old and make room for newness. Otherwise, known as spring. Many of you are also aware of the American holiday, Thanksgiving when we make long lists of gratitude for our blessed lives. On my earth walk, though, now is the time I’m feeling the need to purge and unload. Almost in the dead of winter, I feel compelled to make room. When my intuition and inspiration speak to me so clearly I am much obliged to ignore social and cultural norms and follow my bliss because I know that’s what I must do for success, happiness, and prosperity.

Typically I keep a long running folder of photographs and then I slowly pick through them as I make blog posts. As I use photos and select options, I file them in a more long term folder. My system still has photographs from January 2013 that have yet to be sorted and posted. That is not to say that I don’t like the work or that it is technically inferior in any way. It is very important that you understand these photographs are not leftovers!

The next series of posts will be a blast of photographs: an end of the year POST UP. Enjoy!

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Here is another collection of internet memes I’ve created over the past few months shared through Facebook. If you enjoy these, be sure to like me on Facebook http://facebook.com/natemetzartist and give it a thumbs up so they’ll appear in your newsfeed!

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Bored one afternoon this spring, I pulled out my 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR that I haven’t used since I first bought it 5+ (?!) years ago to test it out. I thought, erroneously, that it would only be good when out scouting birds or taking tourist type shots that I could zoom up onto monuments and so forth. And that is precisely why I hadn’t been using it, focusing instead on my prime lens to capture a nice bokeh and shallow DOF for my translucent light studies. I have had a lot of micromovements in some of my throwaways, so I decided to play with the VR by standing 7-10 feet away. These are the shots I came up with:

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I was perusing some older images in my pictures folder with a friend this week and talking about my photography style. We agreed it was different and not necessarily the sort of images that people gravitate towards. She said it was great that I was able to see the unseen. I love to shoot the things that most of us just walk by without a second thought because those moments of light are beautiful. Much of my shooting is haphazardly unplanned: I go out with my camera and explore to find moments of beauty. These images of the lines on the wall are the perfect example. The sunlight streamed in through the shutters at this angle for but a moment before sliding onto the floor in a blurred distortion. I like the layers of different lines on top of each other.

I find our world to be amazing and interesting. I walk about with a sense of wonder all the time. And those who walk with me often see me crouching, squatting, and otherwise contorting with a camera in my hand because I saw something that caught my eye. It is a constant visual unrest, but a gift nonetheless.

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This post is a two-parter. The supreme court was presented with a case this week challenge benefits for gay couples. It’s part of a larger political struggle for equal rights for gays and gay marriage. Social media was inundated with red “equals” signs in support of gay rights. As a gay man and philosopher I do have some very strong opinions about the subject. But, that will not be the discussion here. Lois’ advice hits me strong. What is the point in having these strong opinions if I can’t articulate them? How could I ever expect to enter a discussion or dialogue with anyone on the subject? When I added this symbol as my profile picture of Facebook, I couldn’t say why I felt the need to post it. Even now, a few days later, I can’t clearly state my exact opinion. Again, I default to a symbol to demonstrate:

So what about THE ART? I know you’re asking it. Gay marriage is rather off-topic for the blog. Here’s why: the inner turmoil to find words to describe my feelings, to describe the red equals symbol, and the befuddled desire to express emotion is the same pattern of confusion I find when I show new work. The nerves and anxiety still throw me even though I know inside why the work is important, why it’s good, and why I want to share it. My work, though, does not incorporate universal symbols shared through social media. It’s up to me to articulate passionately and succinctly my ideas. I’m gearing up for my first exhibit in June and it is nigh time I start gathering my thoughts on the key images.

Note: I so greatly appreciate how I only look at one entry at a time from the book. And, each time I open it to write my next reflection the advice is so on-point with my art career. If I haven’t yet said it, I do recommend George Lois’ Damn Good Advice as a touchstone for your own personal reflections.

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I expressed interest in joining the blog circle because I display pieces of my work in my house that hold great importance to me. They are photographs, paintings, and collage that reflect my spiritual journey as an artist. This work is found on the walls of my bedroom and at my altar where I meditate. The initial call for entry that I saw on the Delaware Photographers Network asked for us to share how we showcase our work in our homes. Today I realized that I had joined a circle of photographers specializing in Family Portraits! So, while we coo over everyone’s beautiful families and friends today, I share with you some displays of a different kind of family. I cherish my work as offspring from my intuition and inspiration. I hope you enjoy:

The next blog on your journey belongs to Theresa and will take you to Southwestern USA. She specializes in natural light family photography. Check out Creative Flair Photography here:

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A month ago I toured the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. I brought my full kit (4 lenses, camera, and external flash) so that I could get some pictures, but was surprised upon walking in the front door that all photography was prohibited inside the main house, including cell phone cameras! I claim no expertise on historical preservation, but I’m pretty sure flash-less photography does not harm the subject in any way. My guess is that the Estate wants the tourists to purchase the official and professional photographs from the gift shops. While I may have taken a few of those style to document the trip, I’m more interested in colors, shapes, and textures and other more abstract pictures. I clearly disagree with the ban because I feel as though they misunderstood the type of photography that I wanted to do! So, I had to rebel just a little bit. I took this photograph in the basement with my cell phone:

By the time the house tour was over, I caught a break in the rain and decided to check out the conservatory. I have been to Longwood Gardens several times and really enjoy taking pictures of the flora because of the soft lighting and near-perfect subjects. The conservatory at Biltmore is much smaller and had much less variety, I was able to take several interesting photographs. These all remain untitled for now. As I select a few favorites for prints, frames, entries, and so forth cleaner edits and titles will emerge! For now, enjoy an early look of spring:

Look for me on a blog near you!

Art has been a main staple and sounding board throughout my life, like a best friend lending support and encouragement, triggering a good laugh, and sharing reminiscing times of remembrance. I am dedicated to life-long learning and will often explore new forms to express my creative talents. For the past two years, art provided a life-saving grounding force as I transformed my life in a major way. The union between my artwork and recovery is very empowering. I truly am an artist at heart and as I align my being closer to my heart and spirituality, my art has followed suit becoming more focused and refined. Nature is an essential source of inspiration as it is a constant state of change, a continual source of new material. I see beauty in cycles of change, death, decay, destroyed, distressing, weathered, and broken subjects.